Evangelical Heavyweights Decry Trump’s Comments

Predictably, reporters scoured quotes from evangelical leaders in the wake of President Trump’s s——- comments – and, of course, his supporters grabbed the publicity. The Washington Post January 12 article begins: “A few members of President Trump’s evangelical advisory council — including its spokesman — on Friday defended the president after he made comments about immigrants from places including Africa and Central America.”

Tweets lambasting all evangelicals sprouted, usually ignoring the key qualifier: the ingratiating evangelicaladvisory council backed Trump. Many others stood aghast, showing little sympathy for council spokesman Robert Jeffress, pastor of Dallas’s First Baptist Church, when he proclaimed:

“Apart from the vocabulary attributed to him, President Trump is right on target in his sentiment. As individual Christians, we have a biblical responsibility to place the needs of others above our own, but as Commander-in-Chief, President Trump has the constitutional responsibility to place the interests of our nation above the needs of other countries. I’m grateful we have a President like Donald Trump who clearly understands that distinction and has the courage to protect the well-being of our nation.”

Obvious theological and logical flaws strangle Jeffress’ thinking. Theologically, the Religious Right was supposedly founded to foster Christian values in policy-making. One such value, admits Jeffress, places “the needs of others above our own.” But, evidentially, this president gets a pass because, somewhere, the Constitution compels him “to place the interests of our nation above the needs of other countries.”

So much for those other-person-first Christian values.

Logically, Jeffress assumes national interests invariably collide: Haiti must lose for America to win. History shows otherwise. The US, Japan, and Germany are now at peace as each nation thrives.

Many evangelicals saw those flaws and declared their opposition. Sample some quotes.

As a fellow human being, as a citizen of the United States, as a seminary president, and specially as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am horrified by and ashamed of Trump’s comments about Haiti and African countries, and their peoples. It is shocking, though not surprising, that Trump holds such views since his track record has been long and clear. Our history and our system has brought us to this horrific point, leaving us stunned and humiliated by the vile statements and actions of our elective leader. May this moment awaken a profound national lament, true repentance of racist hearts, and a fresh commitment to personal and systemic change that honors all human beings as creatures made in the image of God.

I’d hope that Americans, including those in power, would recognize the beauty of these countries and the contributions their immigrants make to our country. Our neighbors, who are especially vulnerable right now, deserve our continued welcome without disparagement and without hesitation.

This is not up for debate: Describing Haiti and African countries as s‑‑‑holes, or some variant of that pejorative, is not worthy of our nation or its president. All people are made in the image of God, and when we speak of them or their living conditions, we should do so with dignity and respect.

The words spoken yesterday by the President of the United States are an affront to the Gospel, Christians, the people of the United States and our Constitution. They are an insult to the Office of The Presidency and a violation of Mr. Trump’s Oath of Office.

If Mr. Trump doesn’t immediately apologize to the people of the United States and the world, commit himself and his administration to anti-racist policies and rhetoric, and amend his ways, his ability to remain in office is in question.

Beth Moore tweeted:

If we will not rise up to the dignity of our task, we must at least know when to shut up lest we parade our sinful hearts naked down Main Street with a megaphone, blushing everybody’s face but our own. “No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush,” (Jeremiah 6:15).

Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor at Anacostia River Church in southeast Washington, D.C, and a council member of The Gospel Coalition, wrote on the organization’s web site:

As a shepherd, I cannot abide the comments our President makes regarding immigrant peoples and their countries of origin. I cannot leave them alone to hear racist barbs and blasphemous slander against the image and likeness of God in which they are made.

Karen Swollow Prior, an English professor at Liberty University, wrote on her Facebook page:

I’ve been privileged to travel to Africa four times, and fell in love more each time with the land and the people. I have never been treated more hospitably than when I was in that beautiful continent. What an example you set for America, dear #Africa!

And it’s no surprise that Russell Moore chimed in. The president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission tweeted:

The church of Jesus Christ is led by, among others, our brothers and sisters from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. They are us.

None of these statements comes as a surprise. These leaders displayed Trump wariness in 2016 and they know Christianity’s vibrant center now lies in the Global South. They’ve helped resettle refugees, sent their money overseas, and experienced African warmth as they’ve traveled the continent.

2 Comments on “Evangelical Heavyweights Decry Trump’s Comments”

Are there any recordings, of any kind, of Mr. Trump actually saying what’s being reported? Frankly, after the past 3 years of lies about the man, it would seem that “Evangelicals” would be more skeptical about anything in the MSM, especially when they have been the target so often themselves.